Now Playing

The Prom

Now Playing

The Prom

The Longacre, named for Longacre Square (now Times Square), was built by producer/manager H.H. Frazee (also known as the owner of the Boston Red Sox who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees). After Frazee fell into financial difficulties, the theatre changed hands many times before being sold to Astor Theatre Incorporated, a Shubert subsidiary, in 1919. WOR leased it from 1943-1953 as a radio and television playhouse.

ARCHITECTURE

Henry B. Herts designed the Longacre, one of four currently operating Shubert playhouses that he designed. It boasts a French Neo-classical-style exterior and a Beaux Arts-style interior, but lacks some of the individuality and flair which characterized Herts’ other designs.

Shubert Audience ServicesThe Longacre Theatre provides at least 10 infrared assistive listening devices for every performance at the theatre. Beginning 4 weeks after a show’s official opening night performance, at least 10 audio description devices are available for every performance at the theatre. In addition, there is unlimited access to downloadable audio description software for personal mobile devices, available beginning 4 weeks after a show’s official opening night performance, which provides an automated detailed account of the visual of the production, free of charge, for blind or partially sighted patrons. The theatre also offers hand-held devices and software that provide captioning for deaf or hard of hearing patrons, available beginning 4 weeks after a show’s official opening night performance. Additional devices can be available with at least 24 hours’ notice by contacting Shubert Audience Services at 212-944-3700 or audienceservices@shubertorg.com. There is also a representative at the Shubert Audience Services kiosk at every performance to assist any patron with the audio description devices, software, or captioning devices.

Accessibility by Seating Section Orchestra Location:Seating is accessible to all parts of the Orchestra without steps. Wheelchair seating in Orchestra Only.

Mezzanine Location:Second level - Up 2 flights of stairs.

Balcony Location:Third level - Up 4 flights of stairs from the Orchestra.

Handrails: Available at the end of every stepped seat row in the Mezzanine and Balcony.

Theatre PoliciesThe use of cameras, recording devices, cell phones, beepers, and other electronic devices during the performance is prohibited. Everyone attending a performance must have a ticket. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of management. Wheelchair and mobility-impaired seating is intended for patrons with mobility disabilities. Children under the age of four years will not be admitted. No outside food or beverage permitted. No weapons permitted on the premises.

NOW PLAYING

THE PROM

The best-reviewed new Broadway musical of the season is The Prom!

What happens when four stars leave the bright lights of Broadway and take leading roles in a small-town controversy making national headlines? You get The Prom: starring Tony Award nominee Brooks Ashmanskas (Something Rotten!), Tony Award winner Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone) and two-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber (Shrek!) leading an electric cast of 27.

The New York Times raves, “The Prom makes you believe in musical comedy again! It’s a Critic’s Pick.” And Variety cheers, “It’s a joyous and funny original musical that reminds you what Broadway is all about!” Z100 declares, “Whatever you do, get tickets now!”

Critic’s Pick! “A laugh-inducing juggernaut!” – Newsweek

Critic’s Pick! “As pure a Broadway thrill as you can get! The Prom deserves the crown!” – The Observer

Critic’s Pick! “A hell of a lot of fun! So full of happiness that you think your heart is about to burst.” – Variety

“Genuine joy rolls off the stage in this smart, big-hearted new musical.” – New York Magazine

“I can’t remember the last time i laughed so hard at a new musical!” – The Wall Street Journal

Among Frazee’s notable early productions at the Longacre were Kick In (1914), starring John Barrymore and Katherine Harris, A Pair of Sixes (1914), and Nothing But the Truth (1916), with William Collier. Leave It to Jane (1917), by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, and Jerome Kern also had a successful run here. In the 1920s, Ethel Barrymore made three appearances at the playhouse in Rosie Bernd, Romeo and Juliet, and Laughing Lady, while George S. Kaufman premiered his hit comedy The Butter and Egg Man (1925). Some notable future stars graced the stage at this time: Jessica Tandy in The Matriarch (1930) and Clark Gable inHawk Island (1929).

The Group Theatre took up residence in 1935, offering three productions by Clifford Odets: Waiting for Lefty, Till the Day I Die, and Paradise Lost. The casts featured Odets, Elia Kazan, Bobby Lewis, Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky, and Sanford Meisner.

After a decade in radio and television, the Longacre reopened as a theatrical venue in 1953 with Dorothy Parker’s The Ladies of the Corridor. Star turns at the Longacre included Julie Harris in Mademoiselle Colombe (1954) (also featuring Robert Redford), The Lark (1955), and Little Moon of Alban (1960); Zero Mostel in Rhinoceros (1961); Ossie Davis in Purlie Victorious (1961); and Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight (1966).

Some other significant shows of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were A Case of Libel (1963), Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (1964), Robert Anderson’s I Never Sang for My Father (1968), Terrence McNally’s The Ritz (1975), Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land (1976) starring John Gielgud, a revival of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1977) featuring Al Pacino, and the Shubert-produced hits Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1978) and Children of a Lesser God (1980).

The Longacre was also the home to Diana Rigg’s Tony-winning turn as Medea (1994), David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child (1998), and Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam (2002). The Longacre housed four noteworthy revivals: Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff? (2005) with Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin, Talk Radio (2007) starring Liev Schreiber, and Tony Award-winning revivals of Boeing-Boeing (2008) and La Cage aux Folles (2010). More recently the Longacre showcased Chinglish (2011), Mike Tyson's one man show, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth (2012), James Franco in Of Mice and Men (2014), the award winning revival of You Can't Take It With You (2014) and the musical A Bronx Tale (2016).